WILLEMSTAD – Next Saturday, October 14, residents of Curaçao could witness a partial solar eclipse. This is called an annular solar eclipse, as the Moon covers 61 percent of Curacao’s sun.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, but it does not appear large enough to cover the entire disk of the sun.
This happens because the Moon is not always the same distance from Earth, and therefore appears to change size in our sky. During an annular solar eclipse, a thin ring or “ring” of the Sun appears around the Moon’s shadow. As a result, this type of eclipse is also called an “annular solar eclipse.” The last time this phenomenon was observed in Curaçao was in 1998.
The solar eclipse will begin this Saturday at 12:47 pm in Curacao and will reach its peak at 2:30 pm. At that time, the Moon will cover about 61 percent of the Sun. The phenomenon ends at 4:05 pm. The complete solar eclipse will be visible in cities such as Panama and Cali, Colombia.
Although a partial solar eclipse is an amazing sight, looking at it directly is very dangerous. We strongly advise you to only look for ISO certified sunglasses, designed specifically for such events.
